Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 16265 

However, changing market dynamics 

and the experience gained through the 

2006 suspension have convinced the 

Committee that container 

standardization is no longer necessary 

to ensure orderly marketing. Last year, 

rather than seeking an indefinite 

suspension of the regulations, the 

Committee recommended a temporary 

suspension so that it could conduct a 

thorough evaluation of the impact the 

relaxation would have on the industry 

during the 2006 shipping season prior to 

taking any further action for subsequent 

seasons. In reviewing the 2006 season at 

the February 15, 2007, meeting, the 

Committee easily reached a consensus 

that an indefinite continuation of the 

container regulation suspension would 

best fit the industry’s marketing needs. 

The Committee anticipates that this 

rule will not negatively impact small 

businesses. This rule extends the 

suspension of the container 

requirements found under § 922.306 of 

the order’s rules and regulations and 

should continue to provide enhanced 

marketing opportunities. 

The Committee discussed—and 

subsequently rejected—alternatives to 

its recommendation to extend the 

container regulation suspension. These 

included allowing the reinstatement of 

the regulations (by not taking any 

action) and continuing with annual and 

temporary regulatory suspensions such 

as recommended for the 2006 season. 

With a successful season behind them, 

Committee members were unanimous in 

their decision to recommend to USDA 

an extension of the container 

regulations suspension for an indefinite 

period. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

apricot handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. In addition, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap or conflict with 

this rule. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

The Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the Washington 

apricot industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations. Like all Committee 

meetings, the February 15, 2007, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.am.usda.gov/ 

fv/moab.html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

This rule invites comments on an 

indefinite extension of the suspension 

of the container regulations under the 

Washington apricot marketing order. 

Any comments received will be 

considered prior to finalization of this 

rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that the 

suspension of the order’s container 

regulations should be indefinitely 

extended in order to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) This rule extends the 2006 

season container regulation suspension 

for Washington apricots to include the 

2007 and future shipping seasons; (2) 

the indefinite extension of the container 

regulation suspension was unanimously 

recommended by the Committee at a 

public meeting and all interested 

persons had an opportunity to express 

their views and provide input; (3) 

Washington apricot handlers are aware 

of this recommendation, are currently 

operating under relaxed regulatory 

conditions, and need no additional time 

to comply with the continued relaxed 

requirements; (4) this rule should be in 

effect by April 1, 2007, to ensure a 

seamless continuation of the current 

container regulation suspension; and (5) 

this rule provides a 60-day comment 

period, and any comments received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 922 

Apricots, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 922 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 922—APRICOTS GROWN IN 

DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN 

WASHINGTON 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 922 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

§ 922.306 [Suspended] 

■ 2. In part 922, § 922.306 is suspended 

indefinitely. 

Dated: March 29, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6224 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 926 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–06–0173; FV06–926–

1 FIR] 

Data Collection, Reporting and 

Recordkeeping Requirements 

Applicable to Cranberries Not Subject 

to the Cranberry Marketing Order; 

Suspension of Provisions Under 7 CFR 

Part 926 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule suspending Part 926 in the 

Code of Federal Regulations, which 

requires persons engaged in the 

handling or importation of fresh 

cranberries or cranberry products, but 

not subject to the reporting 

requirements of the Federal cranberry 

marketing order (7 CFR part 929), to 

report sales, acquisition, and inventory 

information to the Cranberry Marketing 

Committee (Committee), and to 

maintain adequate records of such 

activities. The establishment of these 

requirements is authorized under 

section 8(d) of the Agricultural 

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (Act). 

The Committee, which administers 

marketing order 929, regulating the 

handling of cranberries grown in 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York, has been delegated 

by USDA to collect such information 

authorized under Part 926. Based on 

information provided by the Committee, 

USDA has determined that the 


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16266 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

collection of information under Part 926 

is of marginal benefit to the industry 

and should continue to be suspended. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 4, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia A. Petrella or Kenneth G. 

Johnson, DC Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, Unit 155, 4700 River 

Road, Riverdale, Maryland 20737; 

Telephone: (301) 734–5243, Fax: (301) 

734–5275, or E-mail at 

Patricia.Petrella@usda.gov or 

Kenneth.Johnson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued pursuant to the Agricultural 

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as 

amended [7 U.S.C. 601–674], hereinafter 

referred to as the ‘‘Act’’. 

USDA is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. This rule will 

not preempt any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. There are no administrative 

procedures which must be exhausted 

prior to any judicial challenge to the 

provisions of this rule. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that suspended indefinitely Part 

926 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

which contains the reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements for entities 

engaged in the handling or importation 

of fresh cranberries or cranberry 

products but not subject to the cranberry 

marketing order (7 CFR part 929) 

(order). Under Part 926, such entities are 

required to provide to USDA or its 

delegate, certain information regarding 

the sales, acquisitions, and inventories 

of fresh cranberries or cranberry 

products. USDA delegated authority to 

the Committee to collect such 

information. The Committee, which is 

also responsible for administering the 

order, has used this information to 

analyze market conditions and make 

volume control recommendations to 

USDA. The Committee has determined 

that this data collection under Part 926 

is not needed at this time, and advised 

USDA of its findings following its 

meeting on June 6, 2006. 

Section 608d(3) of the Act, as 

amended, authorizes the collection of 

cranberry and cranberry product 

inventory information from producerhandlers, second handlers, processors, 

brokers, and importers that are not 

regulated by the order. Pursuant to this 

statutory authority, USDA issued 

reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements for these entities under 

Part 926 on January 12, 2005 (70 FR 

1995). Sections 926.16, 926.17, and 

926.18 require these entities to file and 

maintain certain reports and other 

information that are also required of 

handlers regulated under the order. 

Part 926 was implemented to allow 

the Committee access to cranberry and 

cranberry product inventory 

information from throughout the 

industry, including segments outside 

the scope of the order, so that it could 

make more informed marketing 

decisions. For example, the Committee 

makes annual volume control 

recommendations to USDA that are 

based upon estimated cranberry 

production, acquisition, inventory, and 

sales for the total industry. Adding 

inventory data collected from entities 

outside the order to the data reported by 

handlers under the order was expected 

to provide a more accurate estimate of 

the total industry inventory, thus 

enabling the Committee to make more 

informed volume control 

recommendations. 

However, after more than a year’s 

experience collecting the data pursuant 

to Part 926, the Committee has found 

that most inventories are maintained by 

handlers regulated under the order, and 

that the amount of cranberries and 

cranberry products held by entities 

outside the order is minimal and does 

not affect the Committee’s marketing 

decisions. The Committee met on June 

6, 2006, to evaluate the effectiveness of 

the data collection conducted under 

Part 926. Taking into account the 

marginal benefits of this data collection, 

the committee advised USDA that the 

reporting and recordkeeping provisions 

under Part 926 should be suspended. 

This action continues in effect, an 

interim final rule suspending the 

reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements of Part 926 indefinitely. 

Should changes occur in the cranberry 

industry that would warrant 

reimplementation of these requirements 

USDA may take appropriate action to 

reinstate these provisions under Part 

926. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

has considered the economic impact of 

this action on small entities. 

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this 

final regulatory flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

business subject to such actions in order 

that small businesses will not be unduly 

or disproportionately burdened. Small 

agricultural service firms are defined by 

the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) [13 CFR 121.201] as those having 

annual receipts less than $6,500,000. 

Small agricultural producers are defined 

as those with annual receipts of less 

than $750,000. The Committee estimates 

that there are approximately 56 

handlers, producer-handlers, 

processors, brokers, and importers 

subject to the data collection 

requirements under Part 926. The 

Committee further estimates that most 

of the entities required to file reports 

under Part 926 would be considered 

small under the SBA criteria. 

This final rule continues to suspend 

indefinitely the provisions of 7 CFR part 

926, which require persons engaged in 

the handling of cranberries or cranberry 

products (including producer-handlers, 

second-handlers, processors, brokers, 

and importers) but not subject to the 

order to maintain adequate records and 

report sales, acquisitions, and inventory 

information to the Committee. Part 926 

was established because the Committee 

needed inventory information from nonregulated entities as well as those 

subject to the order to better formulate 

its marketing decisions and 

recommendations. It continues to be 

suspended because the Committee has 

determined that, considering the size of 

the inventories held outside the scope of 

the order, collecting that data from the 

non-regulated entities is of marginal 

benefit to the industry. 

This action continues to suspend the 

reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements for these cranberry 

handlers and importers. It also reduces 

the Committee’s costs associated with 

the collection and maintenance of that 

information. 

Alternatives to this action included 

continuing to collect information as 

currently provided in Part 926, raising 

the inventory threshold that triggers the 

need for a non-regulated entity to report 

its inventory so that only those entities 

holding the largest inventories would be 

required to file reports, or requesting 

that non-regulated entities provide 

inventory information voluntarily. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 16267 

However, the Committee advised USDA 

that most cranberries and cranberry 

products are currently held in the 

inventories of the regulated handlers 

until needed by processors, which 

greatly reduces the likelihood that large 

unreported inventories exist. Therefore, 

the collection of inventory information 

from entities under Part 926 no longer 

benefits the industry. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements related to this rule were 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0222, Data 

Collection Requirements Applicable to 

Cranberries Not Subject to the Cranberry 

Marketing Order (7 CFR part 926). This 

information collection package expires 

August 31, 2007. We have submitted 

this information collection package 

(currently under OMB review) for 

renewal and requested OMB approval 

for a 1-hour burden placeholder for 

future reimplementation should changes 

occur in the cranberry industry that 

require reinstatement of these reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements under 

Part 926. 

The AMS is committed to complying 

with the E-Government Act, to promote 

the use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

In addition, USDA has not identified 

any relevant Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap or conflict with this 

rule. 

An interim final rule concerning this 

action was published in the Federal 

Register on December 28, 2006 (7 FR 

78044). Copies of the rule were made 

available through the Internet by the 

Office of the Federal Register and 

USDA. A 30-day comment period 

ending February 26, 2007, was provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to the interim final rule. No comments 

were received. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http//www.ams.usda.gov/ 

fv/moab/html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, it is found that Part 

926, as suspended in this action, as 

hereinafter set forth, does not tend to 

effectuate the declared policy of the Act 

and that the interim final rule, as 

published in the Federal Register (71 

FR 78044, December 28, 2006), is 

adopted, without change, in this final 

rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 926 

Cranberries and cranberry products, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 926—DATA COLLECTION, 

REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING 

REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO 

CRANBERRIES NOT SUBJECT TO THE 

CRANBERRY MARKETING ORDER 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

suspending 7 CFR part 926 which was 

published at 71 FR 78044 on December 

28, 2006, is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

Dated: March 29, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6241 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1207 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–06–0177; FV–06–703–

FIR] 

Potato Research and Promotion Plan; 

Amendment of Administrative 

Committee Structure 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule amending the structure of the 

Administrative Committee (Committee) 

of the National Potato Promotion Board 

(Board) as prescribed in the Potato 

Research and Promotion Plan. This rule 

continues in effect the action that 

increased the number of ViceChairperson positions on the Committee 

from six to seven. The change is 

intended to more closely correlate the 

Committee’s representation with potato 

production in the Northwest district—a 

five state region which accounts for 

more than half of all U.S. potato 

production. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 4, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barry Broadbent, Marketing Specialist, 

or Gary Olson, Regional Manager, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1220 SW., Third Avenue, 

Suite 385, Portland, OR 97204; 

Telephone: (503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 

326–7440, or e-mail: 

Barry.Broadbent@usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or e-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under the Potato Research and 

Promotion Plan [7 CFR Part 1207], 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Plan.’’

The Plan is authorized by the Potato 

Research and Promotion Act, as 

amended [7 U.S.C. 2611–2627], 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process 

required by Executive Order 12866 for 

this action. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. This rule will 

not preempt any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 311 of the Act, a person subject 

to a plan may file a petition with the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

stating that such plan, any provision of 

such plan, or any obligation imposed in 

connection with such plan is not in 

accordance with law and request a 

modification of such plan or to be 

exempted therefrom. Such person is 

afforded the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. After the hearing, USDA 

would rule on the petition. The Act 

provides that the district court of the 

United States in any district in which 

such person is an inhabitant, or has his 

or her principal place of business, has 

jurisdiction to review USDA’s ruling on 

the petition, provided that a complaint 

is filed not later than 20 days after date 

of the entry of the ruling. 

This rule adopts the interim rule that 

modified the structure of the Board’s 

Administrative Committee as prescribed 

in the Plan by increasing the number of 

Vice-Chairperson positions on the 

Committee from six to seven. This 

additional position is allocated, as 

provided in the Board’s bylaws, to the 

Northwest district. This rule increased 


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